Cizkrajov: Castle Site, Churches and Montserrat

Cizkrajov can be explored through archaeological traces, sacred buildings and a protected transport structure. The stone bridge in Cizkrajov was protected as an immovable cultural monument at the beginning of 2024. It is an authentically preserved example of a transport structure and documents the region’s architectural qualities as well as its building and construction techniques.

The castle site of Cizkrajov, an important archaeological site, lies on the northwestern edge of the village. It probably originated around 1300 and was abandoned in the 1430s or 1440s. Low rampart remains, wall and mortar remains, as well as a ditch up to 3 m deep and 25 m wide, have survived on the site.

The present-day Church of St Peter and Paul in Cizkrajov was built between 1500 and 1503 by the master builder Jörg Estreicher, who came from nearby Slavonice. It is a late Gothic, two-nave church with a polygonal presbytery, situated in a cemetery enclosed by a perimeter wall.

The pilgrimage church of Montserrat was demolished in 1785 on the orders of Joseph II and rebuilt between 1858 and 1865. Behind the altar in the presbytery there is a well with a spring. The main two-day pilgrimage to Montserrat takes place on the Saturday and Sunday before 15 August.

The pilgrimage church of Montserrat stands on a wooded hill about 1 km from Mutná, southeast of Cizkrajov. The Landštejn Castle and the mountains Hoher Punkt, Uhliště, Kleniční and Zadní Radlický vrch are located in the surroundings of Cizkrajov. In the wider regional surroundings of Cizkrajov are Roštejn Castle, the Böhmstein shrine and the U Svatého Křiže Church.

The features of the locality are thus distributed across different historical and spatial levels. The castle site combines archaeological traces in the terrain with the early history of the locality, while the churches and the stone bridge are preserved structures, each with its own function and date of origin. Montserrat adds a sacred building with a varied construction history and a pilgrimage date fixed in the calendar. For further classification, Landštejn, the four named mountains and the destinations in the wider regional surroundings should each be considered separately.

These differences are also relevant when planning a trip: within Cizkrajov, the historic buildings and the castle site are the main focus, while Montserrat to the southeast of the locality and the destinations in the surrounding area or wider regional surroundings have their own spatial references. This makes it possible to compare the information by local connection, landscape and regional extent without grouping the individual destinations together as a single attraction.

Further places: Pluhův Žďár, Rodvínov, Zahrádky, Hospříz, Vydří, Lužnice, Jilem and Kostelní Radouň.

Cizkrajov can be reached via third-class roads from Dolní Bolíkov, Peč and Mutná. The access roads from Peč and Mutná branch off roads II/406 and II/152 respectively.

For the higher-level travel overview: Jindřichův Hradec District.